Breaking the Bend
by EventHorizon6
Summary: It's been one full year since Aang defeated the Firelord Ozai. One year of peace and prosperity as the four nations worked together to restore order to their war-torn world, but now a new threat looms on the horizon, one that will test the four nations' elemental bending abilities and the Gaang as they take on dark past secrets and discover new powers that are emerging.
1. The Light

**_Chapter 1  
_****_  
The Light_**

Sokka sighed as he stared up at the night sky shimmering with starlight. It had to happen. It just had to happen.

"Sokka," Katara began, shaking her head as she sat on the grassy hill next to her still standing brother. "Sokka, even if a meteor did show up tonight there's a very slim chance it would crash land close by, and besides you don't know how to water bend. Remember the last time a meteor hit? Aang, Toph, and I had to try and put out the flames that could've easily spread."

"Katara this is the only way for me to build another space sword," Sokka retorted, turning toward her and crossing his arms. "I don't want to miss the chance."

"Sokka, there is no chance," Katara said as she got to her feet, dusting off her blue water tribe robes. "That was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity. I admit this was fun at first, but it's getting late and we should really be heading back."

Sokka's shoulders slumped.

"Yeah, you're probably right," he muttered, turning back to face the enormous stone structure that was the Earth Kingdom: Ba Sing Se. Katara put a hand on his shoulder before he could walk past her.

"I know how much you miss your space sword," she gave him a small smile. "But I'm sure you could make a new one that's just as well crafted."

Sokka returned a smile.

"Thanks Katara. Maybe it's good we're heading back anyway, I'm starving." Upon saying so, his stomach let out a pitiful whine. Katara rolled her eyes.

"You just ate dinner like two hours ago!"

"Well, when a man needs to eat, a man needs to eat," Sokka replied cheerfully, stretching out his arms. "I wonder if Zuko's uncle still has anything left over from dinner tonight," he grinned, images of steak and beef jerky popping into his head.

"Hey keep it together," Katara smirked, poking his shoulder when a sliver of drool escaped the corner of Sokka's mouth. "We still need to walk –"

Katara stopped short, her voice dying off as she hesitated in taking another step causing Sokka to stroll past before realizing that she was staring at something on the horizon.

"Katara?" he asked, returning to her side as he followed her gaze. Far off in the distance was a light very unlike any light Sokka or Katara had ever seen. An energy beam, as green as an emerald gem, was shooting up into the sky past the clouds and towards the stars. Sokka and Katara's eyes widened in shock as they spotted the luminous spectacle.

"What is that?" Katara whispered in awe.

"I don't know," Sokka replied, his normal sarcastic attitude replaced with his solemn warrior tone. "But whatever it is we better let Toph and Iroh know. Let's get back to the city."

"You don't think we should check it out? What if the light goes out and something terrible happens?" Katara asked, grabbing him back.

"Katara it's not a good idea," Sokka shook his head. "Besides, how are we even going to get there?"

Katara couldn't argue with that logic as she and Sokka ran down the hill back toward the outer wall of Ba Sing Se.

* * *

Zuko scowled as he left the Fire Nation dungeons late that night to return to his palace and what he hoped was a good night's rest. No matter how much he had tried over the past year to coax out any information at all about his mother from Ozai, it was no use. Zuko's father remained tight-lipped, and Zuko realized it was because the information on his mother was the only power Ozai still had over him.

Zuko wanted to force it out of the man. He had threatened to end his life despite the fact that Zuko knew he wouldn't have the heart to do it. Ozai had simply laughed stating quite plainly what Zuko feared.

"If you kill me, you still won't have your precious information," the wicked ex-Fire Lord sneered.

Zuko let out a long breath of air as he walked down the quiet streets toward his home once more.

"What am I supposed to do? Where could she be?" he whispered to the chilly air. At last Zuko climbed the steps to his palace, and within only a few minutes of navigating to his room he had stripped off his robes, shirt, and shoes while climbing into his cold empty bed. It felt like a lifetime to the new Fire Lord before he eventually drifted off, and even then thoughts of his many duties and nightmares of his mother bounced around his head.

"Mom," he whimpered in his sleep, turning over under the blankets.

_"Zuko," Ursa smiled, opening her arms for Zuko as she stood on the other side of a golden wheat field._

_ "Mom," Zuko sighed, feeling like the tiny little boy he once was, clinging to his mother because she was the only one that had ever supported him. He took a step forward, trying to reach her, but with every step they seemed to grow farther and farther apart._

_ "Zuko, please, my love, listen to me. Everything I've done I've done to protect you. Remember this Zuko, no matter how things may seem to change never forget who you are," Ursa said, repeating the very words she had spoken to Zuko in his half-asleep state the night she had disappeared._

_ "Mom, wait, stop!" Zuko pleaded, but it was too late. She gave him a soft smile and turned away. "Mom!" _

_ The ground beneath Zuko's feet opened up as the teenager fell into the black abyss, tumbling about until he could see his father's looming face. Despite the man unable to use fire bending, he was just as terrifying as he had been a year ago at the height of his power._

_ "NO!"_

"No!" Zuko cried, sitting bolt upright in his bed, thrusting out his fist and shooting forth a wave of fire as if in self-defense. A jar on a table across the room shattered leaving Zuko breathless and soaked with sweat. He wiped his face with his hands, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he threw off the blanket and stepped over the broken vase toward his balcony.

Once out in the cool night air, the young Fire Lord breathed a sigh of relief, glad for the breeze sweeping across the city and tousling his hair. What was he supposed to do now? His father knew he still exercised some control over Zuko and his success, and that was what was killing Zuko, festering beneath his skin and causing him to revisit very calamitous times in his past.

"Maybe I should just kill him," he growled, resting his arms on the stone balcony rail. "But where could she be?" A terrible thought hit Zuko. It had been a year since he had become Fire Lord, wouldn't his mother have come to him? Everyone knew of the Avatar saving the world. None of it was a secret. Zuko groaned, pounding the stone railing in defeat. He had to find her. She just couldn't be dead. As Zuko rubbed the remaining sleep from his eyes and made a move to return to his room, something in his peripheral vision caught his eye.

He blinked and turned back to the night sky in astonishment.

There many, many miles away was a glowing beam of light that had just erupted from some unknown source, shooting into the sky. Zuko blinked and squinted to get a closer look. The light was a bright emerald green entering the atmosphere and disappearing beyond the clouds. His eyes widened and his eyebrows knit together. What could this mean? Where was it coming from? What was it? Who was doing it?

All of these thoughts shot through Zuko's mind faster than Sozin's Comet. He looked below to see that several of his patrolling guards around the palace had also seen the spectacle. Unsure if the situation with the beacon of light was severe or not, Zuko returned to his room where he lit several candles and sat down to right a hurried letter to his friends in Ba Sing Se. Perhaps they had seen it too and they might have a better idea of what it was than Zuko.

* * *

"Yeah ha!" Aang whooped as he flew back and forth around the Western Air Temple towers under the darkening sky. "Appa you're such lazy bison!" he laughed as Appa let out a roar from the same stone platform Aang and all of his friends had once slept, sat, and told jokes as they prepared for the coming of Sozin's Comet. That had been a year ago, but Aang could still recall all of the memories. The Avatar had made it his mission to attempt to restore the air temples after a hundred years of disarray and abandonment because of the Fire Nation. It helped that Haru and his father were still occupying the Northern Air Temple.

However Aang decided it was time to take a break that night and soaring around the clouds that late was quite relaxing. As Aang did another loop, Momo following suit, the Avatar couldn't help but think about all of his friends still in Ba Sing Se. Katara and Sokka had returned home for a few weeks to help begin rebuilding the northern and southern Water Tribe villages. That process was now being led by their father Hakoda because Sokka and Katara had both wanted to revisit their friends in Ba Sing Se which is where they were currently residing.

Aang hadn't seen the others in two months. Occasionally Sokka would send him letters via his trusty mail bird Hawky, but to be honest the fourteen year old missed Katara. Aang had to keep his cheesy romantic letters down to a minimum lest Sokka or anyone else read them, and the boy knew that if that were the case he'd never hear the end of it.

Aang sighed as he finished another circle around the temple before landing on the upside down roof of one of them. In time he hoped to have all of the air temples refurbished and repopulated, but that was far into the future. Aang took a seat, dangling his legs off the edge of the roof's edge, noticing a similar outcropping far below and one very familiar.

It was the place Zuko had finally proven his worth by saving Aang and the others from a direct hit by Combustion Man. So many things had changed since then. Aang couldn't believe Zuko had once been his enemy hunting him down to regain his honor. Now they were friends just as Aang had once thought they could be.

He looked below at the upside down towers as Momo came and sat next to him chittering and cocking his head.

"I just miss the others, Momo. I wish we could all regroup again. It's hard now that everyone has important jobs to do," Aang sighed. Momo let out a small noise and curled up on Aang's lap for a good night's rest. "Yeah, I hear ya buddy," Aang yawned, stretching and lying on his back to stare up at the sky.

Just as Aang's eyes were beginning to slip closed, something glowing in the sky caught his attention. The boy sat bolt upright causing Momo to jump up squealing in annoyance as Aang blinked and rubbed his eyes spotting the beacon of green light in the distance pointing and firing into the sky.

"What is that thing?" Aang asked, getting to his feet and holding his staff at his side. Momo squawked and leapt onto Aang's shoulder. The beam of light seemed to continue on for another long few minutes before dimming and dying out completely.

Whatever the light was, Aang had no idea if it was congenial or something destructive. Either way he knew it was his job to check it out. Flipping open his glider, Aang soared back toward Appa with Momo flying after.

"Appa, yip yip," he called, flicking Appa's reigns once he had settled himself down on the bison's furry head. Appa did not seem at all excited to be flying at such a late hour and he let out a low growl before slapping his tail down and rising into the air, taking off for the location of the mysterious green light Aang had seen moments before.

**A/N: Okay...well here is the first chapter to my Avatar fanfiction! Yay!**

**Please tell me if I'm not capturing the characters right. That's one thing I always struggle with when starting a new fan fiction story. If I can't describe the character well then it ruins it for me and for all my lovely readers.**

**So that being said, I apologize if anything in this first chapter seems out of place. I proof read it this time (usually I'm too lazy to do this with my less serious stories) because I don't want there to be too many spelling/grammar/other mistakes. If you catch any flag me down and let me know!**

**Anyway, this is going to be a little bit of a weird fanfiction. I wasn't really sure what to do for a good rich exciting adventurous story plot, and I don't want to give it away so I'm just going to test the waters and see how this turns out. If it doesn't end well, I'll probably just file it away and start anew, but if it does work out then great!**

**So in this story you're going to discover some more about Zuko's past especially with his mother, you're going to discover new powers that are actually emerging in the Four Nation's world, and you're hopefully going to encounter more intense adventures with the whole gang! :D**

**So enjoy and let me know what you think ^^**


	2. Village Battle

_**Chapter 2**_

_** Village Battle**_

"Nothing like a hot cup of tea to start the morning off," Iroh smiled, pouring four cups for Toph, Sokka, Katara, and himself.

"So you didn't see the light at all?" Katara asked, accepting her cup, determined to continue the conversation from the night before.

"Yeah, it was so bright I nearly went blind," Tough mocked. Sokka started laughing but hurriedly shut up when Katara gave him an annoyed look.

"What? It was funny," he argued, throwing up his hands.

"To answer your question, Katara, no Toph and I didn't see or feel anything out of the ordinary," Iroh shook his head. "We were too busy making a late night snack," he chuckled, rubbing his belly.

"Aw man, I missed snack time?" Sokka whined. Katara ignored him as she got to her feet and stood in front of the window, her brow creased in confusion.

"It was just so strange. It was like nothing we had ever seen before," she said.

"Actually," Sokka piped up once more. "I did see something similar a year ago."

Everyone turned to look at him.

"What? You did and you never told us? What was it?" Katara demanded, taking a step closer.

"It was Aang. Toph, Suki, and I were aboard one of the airships, taking them down. Once we had completed that task, we waited for Aang to finish his own battle. When Fire Lord Ozai had his fire bending taken away two beams of light, one red and one blue were shot up into the sky," Sokka explained.

"I can't say I saw anything, but I could feel a lot of energy in the air," Toph added, putting her hand on her chin.

"So…what does that mean? Do you think Aang took away someone else's bending again?" Katara inquired, putting her hands on her hips.

"I don't think so. That doesn't seem like Aang," Sokka shook his head.

"Well then what else could it have been, Snoozles?" Toph replied.

"Hey, how should I know?" Sokka grumbled, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair. Katara let out a breath of air, about to take a sip of tea when something let out a piercing screech causing everyone to jump. Through the open window soared a majestic red hawk with beady black eyes, a shimmering golden beak, and a mail container strapped to its back. Iroh just managed to move their breakfast out of the way before the bird landed in the middle of the table as though it deserved to be there in the center of attention.

Hawky, Sokka's own messenger bird, let out an irate squawk from his perch on the other side of the room.

"It's from the Fire Nation," Katara remarked, carefully unscrewing the container lid with the Fire Nation's insignia on it.

"Typical," Sokka grumbled, noticing Hawky's mood and the way the new bird gave him an evil look. "Fire Nation birds are so full of themselves."

"Didn't you get your bird in the Fire Nation?" Toph asked, her feet up on the table as she too leaned back in her chair. Sokka scowled as he stuck his nose in the air.

"That's different! Hawky is a loyal, noble bird! Aren't you Hawky?"

Hawky chirped in agreement as he ruffled his feathers.

"What does it say?" Iroh inquired.

"It's from Zuko," Katara grinned, unraveling the parchment and breaking the Fire Lord's seal. Taking a deep breath she began to read it out loud.

_Dear Uncle, Sokka, Toph, and Katara,_

_ I apologize it has been so long since I have last written. Turns out being the Fire Lord isn't exactly as easy as I once suspected. I have a lot of duties and meetings to attend to about rebuilding the Fire Nation while respecting the other nations. Several of the earth benders have been helping my soldiers clean up any broken war ships or fire tanks to be melted down and used to restore buildings and other homes. _

_ Unfortunately the Fire Nation is still greatly divided. Many of the generals and admirals I talk with are not happy that I'm giving up the Fire Nation's foot hold of power. I am not sure what to do to bring my people back together again and get rid of the rage that fuels our hearts. Uncle, if you have any advice it would be greatly appreciated. _

_ But this letter was not written primarily to catch up with everyone, not that I don't want to take a vacation. I'm writing this because as of early last night I witnessed a very strange display on the horizon. Many of my guards don't know what to make of it. A light was shot up into the sky like some sort of green energy beam, and I'm writing this letter hoping you respond soon to let me know if any of you have seen this manifestation or have any information regarding what it could be. _

_ I'd like to visit soon. Perhaps we could all regroup on Ember Island once more. I need an extended vacation. Pass on the news to Aang, because I'm sure he's still restoring the air temples. _

_Sincerely,  
Zuko_

"So Zuko saw the light too!" Katara gasped once she had finished. "It must have been a pretty powerful light if he could see it all the way from his palace in the Fire Nation."

"No kidding," Toph agreed.

"So what does this mean?" Sokka asked. "Right after the Fire Lord is – I mean Ozai," he shook his head. It was a common mistake for the teenagers to slip up on Ozai's name. They were so used to calling him the evil Fire Lord they forgot they now had to change it to Ozai since he was no longer Fire Lord. "Right after Ozai is defeated mysterious green lights start appearing? Oh no! What if this is a sign? What if this is the beginning of the end?" Sokka cried, dramatically jumping up from his chair. Katara rolled her eyes at her brother's usual bout of spontaneous peculiarity.

"Iroh, what do you think this means?" she asked, turning to Zuko's uncle who had been oddly silent.

"Hmm," he hummed, staring down at his bowl of hot porridge. "I do not know what could have possibly caused this mysterious light, but I do know that it may be good for you all to take a vacation on Ember Island," he grinned. "That way you can meet with Aang and others to see if they have seen anything unusual," he said.

"Okay, so it's a plan. We're all going on vacation," Katara announced happily.

"Hey, about this vacation. It wouldn't be so bad if I invited Suki would it?" Sokka asked, trying to sound casual and disinterested, but Toph and Katara both smirked.

"Sokka, you haven't seen Suki in a few months. I'm sure she would be willing to take a break from her elite warrior training to join us," Katara responded.

"Woo! Yeah!" Sokka pumped his fist. "Come on Hawky, we've got to go pack! Hawky?" Sokka stopped short when everyone noticed that Hawky was now in a staring contest with Zuko's own messenger bird. The red hawk was certainly larger than Hawky, but this didn't seem to faze the bird in the slightest. Hawky took a step closer when Zuko's bird clicked his beak, snapping at Hawky who flapped his wings. Within moments the two birds were locked in a feathery wrestling match around the table.

"My tea!" Iroh cried, pulling his tea off the table as the two birds knocked over bowls of porridge.

"Sokka, do something," Katara gasped, holding the letter out of the way so that the birds wouldn't shred the paper.

"Hawky, stop! Bad Hawky!" Sokka scolded, reaching across the table and trying to stop the tousling birds only to let out a yelp of pain and retract his throbbing finger. "That's it," he glowered, leaping across the table and tackling both birds to the ground to separate them. Once the fight was broken up, Katara grabbed Zuko's bird and placed him on the table where she wrote a hurried letter to Zuko explaining the recent bird fight, how they too had seen the light but had no answers, and how they hoped to take a vacation to Ember Island. Rolling it up as fast as lightning Katara shoved the letter into the bird's mail canister and threw him out the window. The red hawk flapped his wings to avoid crashing into the ground and had soon taken flight on his way back to his master.

"Who knew birds could be so competitive," Toph laughed, having felt and heard Sokka's ungraceful thump on the floor next to Hawky who was now cleaning his feathers of porridge.

"Hawky, you're grounded mister," Sokka groaned, laying his head back on the wooden floor boards in exhaustion.

* * *

Aang scanned the water's edge and the tree tops as he headed from the Western Air Temple toward where he suspected was the bedazzling light from the night before. He, Appa, and Momo had been flying all night, but so far nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Appa let out a low moan as if to let Aang know he was growing tired.

"That's okay, Appa. The next town we see, we'll land and get some rest," he assured him. Momo also seemed pleased with this idea and just as Aang promised they came upon an Earth Kingdom fishing village. Aang flew Appa down behind some trees close to the outskirts of the market.

"You two stay here, I'll go get us some supplies," he told his pets. Momo chattered while Appa roared. Aang smiled as he entered the fishing village. He spent a while browsing market stands for food or other useless trinkets.

"Oh, I bet Katara would love this bracelet," he grinned, spotting the cerulean stone piece of jewelry. The vendor's eyes lit up when he realized Aang was going to purchase something.

"A very fine piece of jewelry, there, Young Avatar. I am humbled to be in your presence," the man bowed. Aang gave a curt bow in return.

"So how much is it worth?" he asked.

"Six Earth Kingdom coins, but I'll make an exception for you and lower the price to three coins," the man smiled.

"Wow, really?" Aang asked, excitement evident on his face. "I'll take it!" Just as Aang was handing over the desired amount, a scream resounded around the village close behind. Aang and the vendor looked up in surprise to see a young woman in tattered clothing fall to the ground in front of a much more muscular man with a lethal sword at his belt.

"Don't touch me!" the woman shouted. The man laughed a deep laugh.

"I've finally got you, you little rat," he sneered.

"Help me, someone, he's going to kill me," the lady pleaded, pointing at the buff guy.

"Nobody move!" the man barked when several civilians moved forward to help. They shrank back the minute the larger man yelled at them to remain where they were. Aang frowned, setting the coins on the vendor's stand and pocketing the bracelet. He knew he would have to leap in and help at any moment.

"Now if you cooperate, it won't be so bad," the man said, bending down to tie her hands behind her back.

"I'll never cooperate," she spat, struggling to get free.

"Hey!" Aang cried, grabbing his staff and stepping into the center of the street and the center of the fight. "Let her go. I'm warning you, or else I'll –" he stopped, feeling his cheeks warm. Despite having defeated Ozai, Aang still tried to avoid problems by being quick or clever. He wished his friends were here. They'd back him up, especially Toph who was always ready to kick bad guy butt.

"Or what?" the man chuckled. "Avatar, you don't seem to realize how dangerous this woman is."

Aang looked down at the woman who was crying some as she stared at Aang, silently begging for help. Aang shook his head.

"She doesn't look very dangerous at all, now back away," he warned.

"No, it has taken me and my team years to track her down," the man grumbled, but when Aang's glare didn't lessen the man sneered. "Fine, Avatar, you want her, come and get her," he taunted, stomping his foot into the ground so a large chunk of rock flew into the air. With one swift kick, the earth bender sent the flying boulder at Aang's head. Setting his feet, Aang threw his fist forward at the last minute shattering the rock into tiny pieces that rained down on the villagers who all gasped and stepped back in fright.

The ground beneath Aang's feet trembled, and the avatar quickly did a back flip out of the way as a giant pillar of rock shot into the sky right where he had been standing seconds ago. To follow up this attack, Aang twirled his staff creating a mini tornado which blew the man back ten feet, but the skirmish was far from over.

The two continued to fight using their bending abilities in the center of the village. Aang noted that the man had quite the talent for earth bending, and even though Aang knew he could do quite a bit more collateral damage, he looked for a way to trap the man uninjured instead.

At last the man, growing tired from Aang avoiding all of his moves, sprinted toward the fourteen year old. Aang let out a shout of exertion as he slammed his wooden staff down on the ground creating an airwave big enough for the man to be thrown backward into a tree so forcefully he struggled to stand up once more.

Aang took this opportunity to rush to the woman's side.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, helping undo her bonds. The woman raised her head, her untidy black hair falling into her face as she passed Aang a rather sadistic smirk.

"I am better than okay, young Avatar," she sneered jumping up and kicking out her foot so Aang flew backward, crying out, onto the hard ground. He looked up just in time to see the woman punch the air with her fist, a blast of fire erupting from her knuckles.

Getting to his own feet in the crouched position, Aang was able to sweep his legs out in a rotating motion to generate enough air to blow the fire back, leaving behind quite of bit of smoke that blanketed the village stinging Aang's eyes as he coughed into his arm.

Once the breeze coming off of the ocean cleared away the remaining smog, Aang realized that the woman had made her escape and was nowhere to be found.

"Avatar," the earth bender croaked from his spot against the tree. Aang rushed to his side as the villagers began to gather, completely shocked at what had just taken place. As Aang drew near, the man's hand flew out, snatching part of Aang's yellow robes and pulling him closer so the boy gasped.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know -" Aang began when the man cut him off shaking his head.

"What have you done, Avatar?" Aang saw the disappointment and the fear reflected in the man's eyes. "What have you done?"

**A/N: Ahh, I really hope I'm not butchering the characters. Please let me know if I am. I thought I'd add in some Hawky humor since I felt like it would be something that might happen in the TV show.**

**So all these random action parts will come together. They will, I promise you that, but you'll have to wait a bit longer to find out about them *evil laugh*. **

**Oh and I realized I made a mistake in the first chapter. I said Haru and his dad were restoring the Northern Air Temple when I meant Teo and his dad. (I think those are their names).**

**Anyway!**

**ComeandGo: Wow thanks so much! I'm glad I didn't ruin the characters, it's always hard to do that especially if they're characters I didn't create myself. Thanks for the review ^^**

**And special thanks also goes to Lord Jaric who also reviewed and is following this story, thanks everyone! **


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